Humor

Question 1

Who were Abbot and Costello

Answer 1

Vaudeville performers until they moved to radio and film

Question 2

What was Vaudeville

Answer 2

The most popular form of entertainment in North America between 1875-1932

Question 3

Where did Vaudeville take place

Answer 3

It started in France, but moved to the US

Question 4

What were Vaudeville performers (7)

Answer 4

skilled comedians, jugglers, magicians, clowns, mimes, dancers, musicians

Question 5

Where was Houdini born

Answer 5

Hungary 1874

Question 6

When did Houdini die

Answer 6

Detroit 1926, but widely accepted that the killing blow came in Montreal, where he was giving a lecture

Question 7

How did Houdini die

Answer 7

A Mcgill student named J. Gordon Whitehead asked Houdini if the rumours were true that he could endure intense punches to the abdomen.

Houdini verified these rumors, but his spleen then exploded.

Question 8

What would Houdini’s wife do

Answer 8

Organize seances for people to communicate with her dead husband

Question 9

Where did the word Vaudeville originate from

Answer 9

French phrases “Val de Vire” (Valley of the river Vire) and “Voix de Ville” (Voices of the town)

Question 10

Where and how did Vaudeville start in the US

Answer 10

-Wild West
-Saloon Owners would hire entertainers to perform, hoping their acts would attract customers.

Question 11

When/where did Vaudeville move out of the saloons and why

Answer 11

1800s, theatre, in an attempt to move away from licentious acts

Question 12

Why was Vaudeville accessible in terms of wealth

Answer 12

you didn’t have to be rich to buy a ticket, unlike with the symphony

Question 13

Why was Vaudeville accessible in terms of language

Answer 13

you didn’t need to speak french, german or italian, as were the most populars operas performed at the time

Question 14

Why was Vaudeville accessible as a family show

Answer 14

Because the entertainment was cleaned up, it was appropriate for all ages.

Question 15

What was the sign backstage at the New York City Palace

Answer 15

This theater caters to Ladies and Gentlemen and Children

Question 16

What is the New York City Palace now

Answer 16

A Broadway theatre

Question 17

Why was Vaudeville accessible in terms of gender barriers

Answer 17

Women were allowed to perform, making often times 100 times more than what they would make in sweatshops

Question 18

Why was Vaudeville accessible in terms of nationalities

Answer 18

The stage opened its doors to numerous immigrant nationalities

Question 19

Was preceded Vaudeville shows

Answer 19

minstrel shows

Question 20

When did minstrel shows start

Answer 20

1828, most popular from 1841-1871

Question 21

What did minstrel shows involve

Answer 21

Black-Face performers, depicting the lifestyle of slaves on the southern plantation, usually in a racially degrading fashion

Question 22

When did minstrel shows lose their popularity

Answer 22

After slavery was abolished (1863-1865)

Question 23

What remained after minstrel shows

Answer 23

Blackface performers (until the late 1950s) - long after Vaudeville

Question 24

What were minstrel shows the root of

Answer 24

Stand-up comdey

Question 25

How are Abbot and Costello best described

Answer 25

a duo with a rapid-fire repartee (quick, witty comments and replies)

Question 26

What are Abbott and Costello said to have a mastery of

Answer 26

Straight man/clown relationship

Question 27

Why is Abott and Costello often called burlesque entertainment

Answer 27

because of their ludicrous treatment of their subject matter

Question 28

What does the word burlesque come from

Answer 28

burla from burlesco, meaning joke, ridicule, or mockery

Question 29

Who were the Marx brothers and where were they from

Answer 29

Originally from New York City and enjoyed success on the Vaudeville circuit

Question 30

What had the Marx Brothers become by 1920

Answer 30

the most popular American stage acts

Question 31

When did the Marx brothers did become the most popular American stage acts

Answer 31

By 1920

Question 32

What did the Marx Brothers do after Vaudeville

Answer 32

Broadway and film, sometimes adapting their plays into movies

Question 33

What is A Night at the Opera considered by the American Film Institute and who made this film

Answer 33

• Marx Brothers
  -12th in the top 100 comedies

Question 34

What do the Marx Brothers do in their films and how

Answer 34

They exist outside of accepted boundaries and are interlopers in respectable society

They try to move up into more reputable positions (in terms of social class) while tearing down the conventions of society

Question 35

What is an interloper

Answer 35

That doesn’t belong

Question 36

What is the Marx Brothers comedy directed at

Answer 36

the crippling restrictions that social life places on the common individual

They are trying to free themselves from and others from debilitating impositions of daily life

Question 37

It’s as if the Marx Brothers try to:

Answer 37

Create their own reality to live in, one which is wild and infantile - accomplished through spontaneous and incrongruous

Question 38

What does the Marx Brothers exaggerated characters aim to do

Answer 38

Subvert the well-established conventions of society

Question 39

Do the Marx Brothers stories have a narrative flow

Answer 39

Yes, but it is really a vehicle to showcase their performances and humour

Question 40

What is a narrative flow

Answer 40

A discernible plot

Question 41

What is a malpropism

Answer 41

Using an incorrect word in the place of a word

Question 42

What is the Marx Brothers Horsic Feathers clip about

Answer 42

A critique of pomp, jabs at the wealthy, gold diggers and women of status